Improvement in automatic railroad-car brakes



v P. R. VHIGLEY.

Car Brake.

Patented Mar. 8, 1864.

"II E ifihess N- PETERS. FHOTO-LITHOGRAFH ER. WAS

UNITED S ATES PATENT OFFICE.

r. n. IIIGLEY, or OSHA'WA, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO WM. P. sPnoULE,

' or sAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT. IN AUTOMATIC RAILROAD-CAR BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 4 l ,S 510, dated March8, 1864.

To aZZ whom} it may concern:

0000, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an underside view of the same. Fig. 4 is an endelevation.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding partsin the severalfigures.

The subject 'of this invention is a railroadbrake so constructed andarranged that when the cars start forward or backward the power appliedto the draw-heads will be transmitted through said levers and rods tothe brakes, whereby they are thrown off or retraoted from the wheels,and when the speed of the cars is slackened and the tension on thedraw-heads ceases the brakes are thrown on by means of suitable springs,all as will be hereinafter fully explained.

In order that others skilled in the art to which my invention appertainsmay be enabled to fully understand and use the same,

I will proceed to describe its construction and 0 represents a draw-barthe rear end ofv which is formed of two strong parallel bars, 0 0,connected together as shown at 0. These bars 0 c are adapted to slide onthe upper and under side of abufter, D, which rests within a metallicbox, D, secured. to the under side of the parallel bars A A 4 Erepresents a rod, which is attached at one end to the draw-bar O, and atthe opposite end formed with a loop, 6, which passes over the upper endof a lever, F. This lever F is supported by and pivoted upon a link Fand has its upper end moved forward at the starting of the car by therod E.

To the lower end of the lever F is attached a series of links, f f f,which connect said lever to the pivoted horizontal levers G G which attheir outer ends are connected wit-h the pivoted brakes H H by means oflinks g 9, so that when the lower end of the lever F is moved backwardby the starting of the car the levers G G are turned on their pivots andretract the brakes H H from the front wheels, 13, of the truck. The linkF may be secured by means of a pivot, f in order that the lever F may,without injury, conform to any laterai movement which the car-body mayreceive.

f represents a rod connected at its forward end to the lever F throughthe medium of a link, f at a point between the pivoted link F" and theupper end of said lever F, and at its rear end connected to the pivotedhorizontal levers G G at the rear of V the truck through the medium of alink, 7.

To the outer ends of" the levers G G are connected the pivoted brakes HH of the wheels B at the rear of the truck by means of links g g, sothat when the upper end of the lever F is turned forward at the startingof the car the inner ends of the levers G G are drawn forward, and thebrakes H H thereby moved out of contact with the wheels B.

From the above description it will be seen that the same movement of thelever F causes power to be transmitted in opposite directions throughthe links f and rod f, the former being attached below and the latterabove the pivot on which said lever turns, and that such movement of thelever produces the simultaneous'removal of the brakes from contact withthe wheels.

I may represent strong springs which exert a continual pressurev on theseveral brakes, H H, and serve to throw and retain them in contact withthe wheels B B when the tensional force upon the draw-bar G ceases or islessened to a certain extent in consequence of the stopping or lesseningof the'speed of the engine.

J represents a rod, which is attached at its respective ends to theupper extremities of the levers F and K. The lever K is pivoted to thebar A, and its longer end is actedon by a pin, k,projecting from thedraw-head and in front of the said lever.

When the motion .of the locomotive is rerod, M, from the draw-bar (J.

tached -to the lever M and designed to conmeet with the brakes on theother end of the l versed, the backward movement which the draw-barGvreeeives causes the pin 7.: to press back the lower end of the pivotedlever K and the consequent forwaid movement which the upper end of thesaid lever and the rod Y J receive produces the same result as thateffected by the advancement of the draw-bar L -that is to say, the upperend of the'lever F isturnedforward and the brakes H H thrown off in themanner described.

It will thus be seen that by starting the ears either forward orbackward the corresponding movement of the draw-barwill produce thedesired effect upon the brakes with equal effectiveness.

Lvrepresents a pivoted lever moved by a;

N. is a rod atof November, 1863.

The rod 0 may be connected with a handlever on the side of the car, soas to take the brakes ofl' by hand. i 1

Having thus described my invention, the

following is what I claim as new and desire to secure by LettersPatent 1. A brake for wheel-vehicles, held in contact with the wheel byaweight or spring and retracted therefrom by the power applied to drawthe vehicle, substantially as described.

2. The combination of. the draw-bar 0, connecting-rods E f- J,links f,levers F K G G, and pin It, all operating in the manner described toretract the brakes by either the forward or backward movement of thecars.

The above specification of my improved automatic railr ad brake signedthis 16th day 1?. R. HIGLEY. Witnesses: i

OGTAVIUS KNIGHT,

GHAnLEs D. SMITH.

